Emerald Hypnosis
by hpfan1234567
Summary: Working at the company she did required nothing but dedication and perfection, and Hermione easily rose to the challenge daily, sacrificing almost everything to achieve her goal. Work was number one and she had done a very good job at maintaining that lifestyle, until a certain client was forced into her life. Will level headed Hermione be able to overcome this challenge? AU
1. Preview

**Hello everyone! It's been a long time since I've written a story on here, and personally I think I'm suffering withdraw symptoms. So this is my attempt at getting back into the game, tell me what you think with your constructive criticism and thoughts!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own anything Harry Potter related (even though it would be awesome if I did)**

School hadn't ever been the hard part, the hours of reading had actually stimulated her mind, and it didn't bother her that she had never attended a single high school dance. In fact sometimes she would see pictures of girls wearing tight dresses, faces caked in makeup, and shudder quickly before shutting off the computer and returning to the book she had just picked up at the library. Life as a teenager had never been hard, if anything it had been effortless and fantastic. It was almost as though Hermione had been made for school and the structure of a child living under their parents' roof. There wasn't anything that was beyond her comprehension and reach. Adulthood though, adulthood had started giving her a run for her money.

When you are in high school and a teacher gives you an assignment in your art class, it's easy to hop onto pinterest, find a picture that makes your hands itch to dance across paper, and recreate it in time for the submission deadline. But when you're a top executive assistant at one of the highest end interior design firms in the country, there are only so many hours you can pore over pinterest pages before the daunting truth is written in front of your eyes in curly artificial print: you're on your own on this one hunny.

This was very new to Hermione, she hadn't ever had to try. Sure she had put enough hours in to make any regular high schooler's head spin, but she never considered that work. That was fun. The challenge of getting that 'A', of beating her personal standards, had been an adrenaline rush. Now, the countless sleepless nights spent pouring out her mind onto paper, trying to add finishing details to a proposal that would meet her boss's standards, were not fun. They created no adrenaline rush, instead they made her want to fall asleep. But to rise to the top of a company, in a male dominated workforce, had always been a challenge Hermione was more than willing to except, and she was going to accept nothing less than triumph.

With that constantly in the back of her mind Hermione got up every morning, donned her slimming black pencil skirt, chosen top of the day, and shiny black heels. Working at the company she did required nothing but dedication and perfection, and Hermione easily rose to the challenge day in and day out, sacrificing almost everything to achieve her goal. Work was number one (if you didn't count her cat, Crookshanks) and she had done a very good job at maintaining that lifestyle, until a certain client was forced into her life. And packaged together with this gorgeous distraction is the chance to achieve her ultimate dream, a top spot in the company she has poured her life into. But will he prove too much for her to handle, will level headed Hermione be able to overcome the challenge presented in front of her? If it means she gets to sit in those comfy leather chairs, then she's going to have to.

 **So there it is, in all of its beauty. I know this was a precursor, a little taste of what is to come if you will, but if you guys like what you read I'll definitely be writing more! Just let me know what you think, it's always hard to judge your own work.**

 **Thanks and much love to all of you**


	2. Chapter 1

**I got really excited about this fanfiction and went ahead and wrote the second chapter! (But really the first) So hopefully you'll enjoy and let me know what you think!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to the Harry Potter series**

It was the paws kneading her face that woke Hermione up, not the tranquil water music flowing from the speakers of her beat up alarm clock. For a moment she had no idea why her small apartment smelled so strongly of black coffee and why seemingly hundreds of papers were strewn across her bed, but then the memories of the all-nighter she had pulled surfaced in her mind… or what she had planned to be an all-nighter.

One glance at the clock told her that her alarm had been going off for about 20 minutes. She had exactly one hour to round up all the papers into a pile that somewhat represented its intended order, make herself (and her hair) look presentable, and get to work on time. Probably doable.

She hopped out of bed, placing a somewhat disgruntled Crookshanks in her previous place, and raced about throwing on clothes and taming her hair, all with that annoying water music floating around in the background.

The project that had kept her up the night before hadn't necessarily been anything special, just a master bedroom remodeling project for a new client somewhere over in Ireland, but here recently even the small stuff was big. Because Hermione was sure a promotion was coming up. She could feel it.

The big shot executives, the ones even above the men she worked for, had started smiling at her. Smiling. People had also started calling her Ms. Granger, a step up from the extremely unprofessional 'Hermione'. In all honesty outside of the office she preferred the latter, but with the new introduction of the former she knew something big was brewing.

And in her line of work, at the level she was performing, big could very well mean getting someone else to make every day humdrum calls to the hundreds of clients calling in. But in the back of her mind, Hermione was crossing her fingers for something different.

With all those thoughts dancing in the back of her mind, Hermione tossed a cup of cat food into Crookshanks's bowl before leaving her quiet apartment for the bustling city streets.

Hermione had grown up in a small suburb, quiet and relatively boring and Hermione had thrived in that environment. So when she had moved out into the bustling city to pursue a job at one of the top design firms in the country, she had left more than a couple heads reeling. Her parents, and especially Ron and Harry, had been nothing but supportive, but there were those promising her nothing but failure.

Sometimes, when she would go home, she'd make sure to don her most expensive suit before deliberately walking in front of their house. Just to show them how wrong they had been about her.

But nevertheless the city had proven difficult at first, she wasn't going to lie. There were certain things that took some getting used to, for instance the transportation. Her hometown hadn't had a tram, or even a taxi. She had acquired Crookshanks after a fairly terrifying run in with a taxi, needing something to offer her some amount of physical and mental support. But after several weeks all of the sounds became somewhat of a lullaby, a sound that transmitted frequencies of life.

And as she click-clacked her way into the sky high office building she knew that she had made the right choice. But of course she always made the right choice.

The polished metallic letters spelling out 'Harmon and Rugby Designs' created a tone for the entire company, telling anyone entering the building to stand up straighter and make sure there weren't any wrinkles in their clothes. Every surface was clean, every piece of furniture matched perfectly with the pieces surrounding them, it was like the poster child for modern city skyscrapers.

I waved at the lady at the front desk, and received a genuine smile in return just as my phone buzzed in my purse. I waited until I was safely behind the shining metal elevator doors before digging it out from under all of the papers in my bag, to see that I had three texts. Two from Harry, one from Ron.

Harry: _My fingers are crossed for you Hermione!_ (Text one)

Harry: _I know you'll do well. Call me when you're out!_ (Text two)

Ron: _Gud Luk_ (in typical Ron fashion, as short and sweet as possible. Still, a nice gesture and the fact that he actually remembered spoke louder than the words on the screen.)

Hermione shot back texts to both, reassuring Harry she would call him, and thanking Ron, before the doors glided open revealing the floor that at the moment controlled her life.

Walking through the halls was a completely different experience from outside the walls of the building. The only sounds were the rings of phones, soft padding of patent leather shoes, and hushed voices of coworkers collaborating and tossing ideas back and forth. It was wonderful.

Slipping into her small office gave her a moment to clear her thoughts, to organize the check list of things in her mind.

Put the papers in order because she knew for sure that they were not in order.

Go over a simplified version of the outline before going and meeting Mayerly.

Don't panic

Reapply deodorant

Smile

She had just finished step one when without knocking Mayerly, her supervisor/boss, burst into the room. He made a simple gesture with his finger, beckoning her to follow him, and before she knew it he had left the room and was moving rather quickly down the halls. Several things were running through her mind, such as curse words and spinning doubts, but loudest of all were the fervent prayers that the papers were in order. Because it would suck if they weren't.

"Granger?" Mayerly had gotten far enough ahead that his raised voice did not sound loud, far enough ahead that Hermione was walking as fast as she could without running.

"Right behind you sir." Which was a lie.

"Set up in this room Granger. I'll be in shortly." She obediently entered the room, wondering vaguely why he wasn't going to go into the room with her right then. She shrugged it off though, it wasn't that big of a deal, and it would give her time to think about her speech.

Mayerly was one of the most laid back supervisors, which had always made Hermione's job easier, but not at the same time. Because it was times like this where those laid back meetings were going to be thrown out of the window, if he was bringing someone else with him she was going to have to step up her game.

Ten minutes passed by and hundreds of papers were neatly placed on the table, creating a mosaic of numbers, colors, and shapes. She was ready, she was going to kill this. That is until Mayerly's calm voice echoed through the room and she turned around to greet him.

Because when she turned around it wasn't only Mayerly who was standing in from of her, a tall emerald eyed stranger was also with him. And in that moment she realized she hadn't put on deodorant. Ugh.

 **There you are! I hope it's good, this chapter took me a while longer to write than usual but hopefully you guys will enjoy it. Let me know what yall think!**

 **Much love to everyone**


	3. Chapter 2

Later that night, instead of stressing over her new work assignment, Hermione explored countless websites looking for the same green as that of Mr. Malfoy's eyes. She looked at nature blogs, websites for fashion magazines, even the Crayola site, but found nothing. Not one single search result for 'brilliant emerald', 'emerald', or any variation of the phrase yielded positive results. They were either to dull or too bright, a shade to dark and lacking a degree of mystery. It was fairly depressing and mindboggling, so much so that after several hours Hermione simply abandoned the task and opted instead to retreat to her bed, Crookshanks dutifully following after her.

And again, instead of sleeping she laid awake thinking of the mysterious Draco Malfoy, son of the deceased great Lucius Malfoy (aside from color research, Hermione had done a bit of research on the actual person also). Draco was 25, the single inheritor of his father's multi million estate(s), and was devastatingly handsome. The last bit she had deduced for herself, none of the websites had directly come out using those words.

But other than the hard facts Hermione could find no information public ventures of any kind. Draco Malfoy had seemingly remained under the radar of the public, coming out only after the death of his father, and even then he seemed wary of attention. Even in the meeting earlier that day he had seemed oddly quiet and subdued, as if he was only partially in the room, and wherever the other half of him was he'd rather be.

From the moment he had walked in the room with Mr. Mayerly, his eyes had coolly followed her around the room, making the most minute facial changes in response to certain things she would say. He was the embodiment of grace and that had been his intention of the meeting, Hermione had gone on to find out.

For the project she had just finished and presented to the two men had apparently been somewhat similar to what Mr. Malfoy was looking for in the new job he was commissioning the company to take on for him. When she had finished presenting Hermione had somewhat awkwardly stood at the front of the room whilst Draco's cold eyes scanned her and Mayerly thought things over in his head. After several minutes Mayerly abruptly leaned forward in his chair, gestured to Hermione and said,

"Is this what you're looking for?" To which he replied,

"This is exactly what I'm looking for."

Within the timeframe of several seconds Hermione's heart both raced and plummeted. Because in that statement she was granted the success she so greatly coveted but also pulled into something unknown.

"May I ask what you gentlemen are talking about?" She asked, unable to help the words from bubbling forth. Mayerly simply let out a hearty laugh and stood up before striding over to Hermione and taking her hand with one of his.

"Congratulations Ms. Granger, you have a new job. You've passed the test, and for the next several months you will be working with Mr. Malfoy on his latest remodeling project. This just might be your big break Granger."

The excitement was so great that she barely picked up on the electricity that traveled through her spine when Draco's soft hand grasped hers, earnestly offering his congratulations and excitement to work with her in the future.

After that the minutes blurred. She was whisked into Mayerly's office before Draco offered his apologies on having to leave so soon. Inside Mayerly's office she was given the inside scoop on the 'contest' they had arranged, and all of the corresponding dates and meetings (which Hermione had to quickly scribble down in her date planner. He wasn't leaving much time to even breathe).

It turned out that the project she had been working on the night before had not been for any client at all, but for a contest of sorts Mr. Malfoy and Mr. Mayerly had set up. Draco only wanted the best to work on his project and in order to find the best he gave everyone the same job: Design this project.

The project had called for a soft yet edgy design for a townhouse up at the north end of the city. The only stipulations were for it to be top of the line lavish, therefore no expenses were to be spared.

Once they were all finished Draco was supposed to come and judge all of the designers, choose the person who best embodied what he was looking for, and sign them onto the job. That person just happened to be Hermione, and she couldn't have been more excited.

All she had to do was work especially hard on this project and perhaps, as Mayerly had eluded to earlier, rise up a notch in the company. It would be hard but definitely worth it if it worked out in her favor.

And as Hermione snuggled deeper and deeper into her bed, she was, for the first time in a long time, happy and intrigued. Everyone she had called today had wished her nothing but congratulations, even Ron had offered kind sappy words of encouragement. It had been a long time since Hermione had truly felt excited for her work, and she missed that feeling in the pit of her stomach.

But after several seconds of thought Hermione realized that just maybe that feeling in the pit of her stomach was directed at something, or someone else. Someone who colored her dreams later that night.


	4. Chapter 3

**I actually really enjoyed myself writing this chapter...although the supernatural episode in the background was a bit distracting.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters**

Over the next week the majority of communication between Draco Malfoy and Hermione was through a third party, namely Mr. Mayerly. In fact, Hermione had had no connection with Mr. Malfoy, until late the night before she was due to meet with him for their first design meeting. In fact, she didn't know how he had even gotten her number. Realistically however it most likely hadn't taken much effort for someone like Malfoy to get her cell phone number. At the least, Mayerly had given it to him. The text had been short and to the point;

Draco Malfoy: _A black Mercedes will pick you up from your apartment at 9 in the morning tomorrow. You need not worry about making the journey to our meeting, I will take care of it._

In a mere span of seconds Hermione went from confusion to relief. Confusion based upon the fact that she actually had no idea where this meeting was being held. Mayerly had told her that it was going to be at one of Draco's many townhouses, but where that house was located she had no idea. Relief because of exactly that: she had no idea where she would be going.

The next day Hermione woke up to the same water music, but today she woke up on time, thirty minutes earlier than usually actually.

Padding to the kitchen in her fuzzy kitten slippers, she could only think about the day ahead. Of how, for the first time since that day at the interview, she would be meeting with Draco Malfoy. And possibly alone she might add. She didn't even notice when the hot coffee singed the tip of her tongue, she simply kept playing various scenarios in her mind. However, as they started taking a turn away from PG-13 Hermione quickly tried to focus on the different colors she was applying to her eyelids, one slip up and she could show up to the meeting with a dreadful shade of purple coating the skin around her eyes.

When she stepped out of her apartment, making sure Crookshanks's cat door was locked as well as the front door. As she looked at herself in front glass of her door she had to commend herself on her handy work. Hermione was never one to tote around an ego, only ever being humble and down to earth but sometimes she allowed herself to admire herself. She was all for self-love, and Hermione did love herself, she just never dwelled on her outer beauty.

But today she had done a little extra work on herself, trying out a new hairstyle she had found on pinterest, and putting more definition on her face. Her new shirt and skirt ensemble she had just purchased was wrinkle-free and particularly flattering for her petite body, legs instantly appearing longer in her patent stilettos. She was ready to run into this project head first. Not in these heels parse but whatever.

Just as she turned to face the street a shiny black car slowed to a stop in front of her small apartment, instantly making her feel sub-par.

The door swung open to reveal a middle aged man who opened the door to the back seat.

"Ms. Granger? We do have a schedule to keep, Mr. Malfoy is waiting." Hermione, mildly embarrassed at the way she had stood there staring like a fish, quickly walked to the car, throwing her bag and purse into the back seat of the car.

The car was gorgeous, smoothly gliding through the city streets, past all the shops and stores she passed every day, but on foot. Soft piano music floated through the car, filling the silence that voices were not.

15 minutes into the car ride the car drove into a section of the city Hermione didn't even know existed. The streets were lined with well-manicured lawns that wrapped around the front of old remodeled houses, resembling ancient moats. Each house looked like it was straight front a better home and gardens catalog, except more high scale. These houses were obviously not inhabited my regular citizens.

Large blooming trees lined the walkways adding to the fairytale-esque feel of the neighborhood. Men and women, with perfect hair and faces, sprinted or walked down the sidewalks, sparing no outer enhancement despite being only out to exercise.

After about 2 miles of pristine houses they slowly rolled to a stop in front of a large filigreed gate, opening with the press of a button on a remote type gadget he was holding. They opened slowly to reveal a large house, scratch that, mansion that was almost the exact opposite of all the houses around it.

It was a slate grey with black detailing and cold stone siding. Windows littered the front and upper stories of the house but were not open to light, instead shielded by dark grey curtains. It wasn't exactly what she had been expecting, given the house's neighbors and seemed a bit emo. In front of the house was a wide driveway that the driver parked the car on, directly in front of the front door. Stone steps led your eye to the elaborate front door, honestly making Hermione a bit wary of entering the house.

Nevertheless she allowed the driver to escort her out of the car and up the steps, opening the door and allowing the inside of the house to overwhelm her senses.

Marble tiles were laid across the floor accenting the heavy dark wooden furniture that was sitting on top of it. A beautiful chandelier hung from the ceiling as an ornate staircase wound itself upward to the floors above. To the sided of the foyer was a stark white sitting room, complete with fireplace and those heavy grey drapes. White couches with harsh lines filled the mostly empty space and an elaborate cane was mounted parallel to the fireplace mantel. Hermione had just moved closer to the cane, to examine what looked to be the head of a snake at the top, when a cool sleek voice filled the room around her.

"It was my late father's dwelling. He designed it himself and spent most of his time here. That cane was his prized possession." Embarrassed to have been found wandering around his house alone, she turned slowly to meet face to face with the focus of her most recent daydreams.

He looked just a put together as he did that first day they had met, flaunting a perfectly tailored suit showing off his slender yet well-built frame. Today he had left the first couple of buttons unbuttoned, leaving a small triangle of pristine cold looking skin showing. She couldn't speak, and it took Draco's words to pull her out of her spell.

"I would like to give you a small tour of the place before we get underway with our first meeting, if that would be ok with you." He quirked her eyebrow upward, a small hint of a smile tugging at his lips.

"Oh! Yes, I'm terribly sorry. Yes, I would love to see the rest of the house."

He nodded and allowed the most handsome tour guide of all time to lead her around the house.

As she saw more and more of the house she began reminiscing about the countless field trips to the museum. That same reverent feeling of awe filled her chest as she walked through these halls, afraid to breath in fear that she would misplace something precious. Museums had been the muse that had originally started her on the path of design. To create something timeless, to house someone's most prized possessions, was her greatest motivator. However as Draco led here around the house she couldn't help but notice how drastically different this house's décor was from the project he had asked her to design.

It took 30 minutes but eventually the pair ended up back in the same spot they had started, in the sparse sitting room next to the front door.

Hermione's heartbeat had never been held a normal beat during her tour, racing whenever their eyes would meet or when he would gentlemanly escort her into a room, but her heart ran from her chest when he placed a steady hand to the nape of her back, gently leading her down to a stiff looking couch. A steady breath and look away from Malfoy's face calmed her enough to listen to Draco's next question.

"Now Ms. Granger what do you think of this house?" She thought for a moment, allowing herself a few moments to think over what she was about to say.

"It's very beautiful. Simple and antique, somewhat like a museum. But, forgive me for my forwardness Mr. Malfoy, but this house is nothing like the project I just finished for you." He nodded, looking vaguely like a proud parent.

"Exactly Mr. Granger. The project you will be working on, I want you to make it look like the exact opposite of this. Exact opposite." Hermione nodded, surprised but delighted with this news.

"I can most definitely do that Mr. Malfoy." He nodded and was about to stand when he quickly turned toward Hermione, a smile making him more devastatingly handsome.

"One more thing, Ms. Granger, my name is not Mr. Malfoy. It's Draco."

Hermione smiled, allowing her heart to race and butterflies to invade her stomach.

 **Let me know how I did you guys! It really helps my writing and I love knowing what y'all think.**

 **All of my love.**


	5. Chapter 4

**It's been a long time. It's hard to write when you're on vacation and can't bring your computer but I'm finally home and was able to get another chapter done! I hope you enjoy reading :)**

 **I do not own any of the Harry Potter franchise**

If work had to be summed up in one word, Hermione would never have chosen the word 'fun'. Maybe 'stressful', 'necessity', but there were too many factors that came into play that didn't allow 'fun' to be the overreaching adjective for work. Work had always been something she had to do, and Hermione made the best of it.

Lately however work was not even a necessity, it was simply a distraction. A distraction from Malfoy- correction, Draco- that at the same time happened to pay her money. Whenever those green eyes would invade her mind all she'd have to do was look at the piles of neatly stacked papers in her office, and she would immediately be reverted to her previous line of thought.

At home Hermione was a hopeless cause, one big ball of emotional commotion. She could be pouring coffee, petting Crookshanks, but only be in the moment physically. Mentally she was imagining wild scenarios, things she knew to be foolish daydreams.

Like the time she was imagining laying on the beach, Draco's bare torso leaned against her body, when the sand she was gently laying her hand on was getting really hot. Turns out it wasn't sand, it was the coffee she had been pouring. And this was only one of the numerous instances.

At work she could focus on her job, on the countless pieces of paper that needed to be read or looked over, but at home the only thing she had to distract herself from Draco, was Draco himself. At all times there were countless tabs pulled up on Hermione's computer, tabs for furniture stores, paint colors, etc. Draco was the distraction and Draco had taken over her only distraction.

On one hand Hermione found herself giddy, somewhat like a girl in middle school who has a crush on some unobtainable jock. But on the other she couldn't help but be realistic.

Whenever her phone would ring her heart would race, pounding madly as her eyes and hands searched frantically around the room for her phone, hoping that Malfoy had sent her a new text regarding a meeting of something, a text like before. And when the text turned out to simply be Harry updating her on his exciting day, her brain would kick into adult mode, chastising her for even allowing her mind to wander in those directions. To have any kind of relationship other than professional with a client was a stern rule. That didn't mean it was always necessarily enforced or kept, but Hermione didn't break the rules. She followed them. However, just because Hermione followed the real life rules, didn't mean her brain never wandered in the pretend one.

It had been almost two weeks since Hermione's last meeting with Draco, and in the meantime Hermione had accumulated a large pile of design plans. She was anxious to meet with him, share what she had found, but she knew it wasn't her place. Her job as the designer was to wait for the call of the client. And one night, it came, but this time it was actually a call.

Around 8 o'clock on a Wednesday night Hermione's phone went off, however the usual jig-like dance her heart usually performed when her phone made any activity didn't happen. Wednesday was the day Hermione's mother called to let her in on the gossip of the town, any new happenings in the family's life, and a general 'how are you doing out there in the big city' call. But when she answered the phone with her usual "Hey Mom how's it going?" the voice on the other end of the phone didn't match her mother's.

It was a calm rich one she immediately recognized. She instantly regretted not checking the caller ID on the phone as her face began radiating heat.

"My apologies Mr. Malfoy I was expecting a call from my mother, she usually calls around this time." All she could do was thank the heavens he could not see her face.

"Draco. And I thought all the hi-tech phones these days had called ID." Her face softened and she let out a laugh of relief when she heard his tone; a tone that, if witnessed in person, would be accompanied with a coy smile.

"Yes well it seems I was born in the wrong generation, the idea of caller ID slipped my mind." He chuckled and it made Hermione's heart race. That deep, alluring laugh would be stashed in her memory for later daydreaming. "Anyway, I'm sure you called about something important before I embarrassed myself."

"Yes I was. I want to apologize for calling so late but I would like to meet with you tomorrow afternoon for lunch at my house. It's been a while since we have been able to talk about the design plans and I apologize about that, circumstances has risen up. If you would be available I can have my valet pick you up at 12?" Was jumping up and down appropriate?

"Of course, I would be happy to meet with you, I've acquired a great amount of information for your plans."

"Fabulous. I look forward to meeting with you tomorrow. And whilst we are on the subject, what is your favorite meal?"

The next day Hermione's nerves were just as high as the first meeting date, and the ride was just as long. There were no wrinkles in her black form fitting dress but she managed to find some.

As the car gently rolled past the houses and into the driveway of the Malfoy residence Hermione grasped the handle of her bag tightly and took one final deep breath. At the top of the steps, Dressed in a tailor made suit, stood Draco, as handsome as she had been imagining him. He descended the steps and barely gave the car a chance to come to a complete stop before opening the door and offering Hermione his hand.

"Good afternoon Ms. Granger, I appreciate you meeting with me on such a short notice." Maybe it was her dress or the new brand of perfume she was wearing, but Hermione felt confident. Her heart was beating almost normally and she allowed the shivers to roll down her spine when their hands met. It was like an old movie and she had watched enough to know how to act.

"It's Hermione. And I'm glad you called, I'm getting very excited about the project." She gently offered her a smile, his emerald eyes radiating a warmth she had not noticed at their prior meeting.

When they entered the house Hermione's bag was taken into another room, the room the plans would be discussed she presumed. For now they were going to eat, and Draco's cooks didn't disappoint.

When Draco had asked her what her favorite food was she had blushed slightly before saying chicken and dumplings. It was a guilty pleasure that she expected him to scoff at, but instead he had seemed excited. Something different than the usual up-scale fare he was used to, she was sure.

Conversation flowed effortlessly, perhaps the slightest hint of flirting coming from both sides. It could however have just been Draco being a gentleman, but Hermione desperately hoped for a different alternative.

He seemed overjoyed with her progress on the re-decorating project and she could not have been happier with his reaction. That is until he got suddenly quiet, quiet for the first time that afternoon.

"Is there something missing?" Hermione asked, feeling her heart tremble slightly.

"It's just…. Something's missing. A bit of life maybe?" Her heart sank. "But it is certainly not your fault. If anything it is mine. For us to be on the same page we must be able to draw from the same inspiration. What are your plans for tomorrow night, around 7?"

For the first time in the several hours they had spent together Hermione found herself taken completely captive by Draco's emerald gaze, with the depth she found.

"Nothing that I am aware of." She said quietly, not expecting what was to come out of Draco's mouth.

"Would you be able to accompany me to the ballet tomorrow? It just so happens that one of my favorite shows is in town, actually a show that has inspired my design plans since the first time I thought of remodeling." Her heart stopped. This was like a date. A date. With Draco Malfoy. A date.

"Of course."

Their eyes stayed locked for several moments before Draco abruptly stood up, startling Hermione the faintest bit. After straightening his tie he smiled again and gestured to the door.

"Then we can continue the session tomorrow. How does 4 o'clock sound, at your house, so we have time to eat before the entertainment?" She simply nodded, mind racing as she gathered the papers into somewhat of an order.

She, Hermione Granger, had a date with Draco Malfoy of all people. A date under the pretense of work, but she wasn't focused on that.

 **Thank you all for reading and keeping with the story :) If you feel so inclined I would love to hear your thoughts on the story so far. Have a lovely day and thank you so much for reading! –Sarah**


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